


I Love You (But You Love Him)

by Mayumi_chan



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Basically Keith is a sad boi, Bisexual Shiro (Voltron), But it centers more around Keith's feelings, Emotional Keith, F/M, Fake Feelings, Fluff, Gen, Heartbreak, Hunk (Voltron) is so Pure, Hunk is 18, I Tried, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Titles, I'm a slut for unrequited love, Lance and Keith's sexualities are up to interpretation, Lance is 18, Langst, Lies, Light Angst, M/M, Near Death, POV Third Person, Pidge is 16, Pining Keith (Voltron), Possible smut, Pre-Lotor, Really Bad QwQ, Secrets, Shance is the main ship, Temporarily Unrequited Love, This fic won't be too long, keith is 19
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-06 03:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12202779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mayumi_chan/pseuds/Mayumi_chan
Summary: In which Lance nearly dies and confesses his love for Shiro. Afraid he'll actually die, Shiro lies and tells Lance he loves him back.When Lance and Shiro begin dating, Lance is happier than he's ever been since entering space while Shiro is dying of guilt.Within this mess is Keith, who is head over heels in love with Lance. He has to watch his best friend be loved by the only person he's ever had feelings for.Will Shiro end up telling Lance the truth or will he truly fall in love with Lance? Will Keith ever tell Lance the truth about his feelings or will he continue to watch from the sidelines, heart aching, for the sake of Lance's happiness?





	1. I Love You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Old summary (let me know if I should change it back ^^);;;):  
> Delirious after being shot by a galra soldier, Lance confesses his love to Shiro, afraid of dying before he could tell him. Feeling bad and worrying that Lance really might die, Shiro tells him he loves him too.
> 
> After awaking from the healing pod days later, Lance confronts Shiro, telling him he was telling the truth about his feelings. Shiro, feeling guilty for lying on the first place, tells him he also meant it. That he loves him and Lance is overjoyed by the lie.
> 
> So they start dating.
> 
> Unfortunately, there was someone who overheard the whole thing. 
> 
> Keith.
> 
> Keith, who was about to confess his love for Lance, now has to live with knowing Shiro doesn't love Lance but gets to be with him and hold him anyway, while he just stands on the sidelines, heart aching silently.
> 
> Will Keith end up telling Lance how he feels? Or will he let him begin a lie for the sake of his happiness? Will Shiro come clean with Lance or end up truly falling in love with him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for giving this a chance!!! I promise it'll be worth your time~
> 
> So, like I said in the tags: This is a SHANCE-CENTRIC fic!!!! If you dislike Shance please kindly just click out :) The story itself revolves around Keith's heartbreak. This chapter is a very short introduction to what was stated in the summary. Enjoy!!!!

In situations like these, it always seemed to be Lance that got hurt, whether that “hurt” was mentally or physically…

However, this time, it was physical. Lance had been shot down by one of the galra soldiers when he'd gotten distracted worrying about Hunk. He was hit on the back, the blast feeling like it was burning a hole into him.

He cried out loudly, his bayard falling from his hand as he flew forward, slamming into the nearest wall. The wind was knocked out of him as he fell onto his side, writhing in pain.

“Lance!” Shiro called out worriedly, running to his friend's aid after using his artificial arm to cut down the galra bot that shot Lance.

“Is he okay?!” Hunk exclaims, way to run over there and help his best friend.

“He'll be okay, I'll make sure of it,” Shiro says matter-of-factly. When Hunk didn't move Shiro made a frustrated sound before ordering, “Go find Pidge and help her, I'll take care of Lance!”

Hunk didn't want to leave Lance behind but he trusted Shiro. He nods seriously. “Okay!” he says, and then he was gone to find his girlfriend, killing  the few other galra soldiers left in the room on his way out.

“Lance? Lance! Stay with me buddy…!” Shiro says, voice urgent but calm nonetheless. He had his hand on the small of Lance's back, right below where he was hit. There was already so much blood…

“Sh… Shiro,” Lance says weakly, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Lance! Thank God you're awake! Just hold on and I'll--”

“Shiro it hurts…” he says softly, voice quaking as he tried to grip the front of Shiro’s suit weakly. “I-I think I'm dying…! Shiro, I'm dying! It hurts, it hurts so badly!”

He was panicking, Shiro could tell. He couldn't stop crying, his body shaking in the older man's arms. Shiro held him close. “Lance, calm down! I'm gonna get you out of here.” He began to scoop Lance up bridle style.

“I love you!” Lance cries out, the river of tears still flowing down his dark skin.

“... What?” Shiro asks, pausing his movements in shock.

“I love you so much, Shiro! I love you, I love you, I love you…!” Lance was sobbing at this point. “Please, please kiss me just once, please, Shiro, I love you!”

He was rambling, coughing in between his words. Shiro had to get him out of there or else he really will die…!

“Lance calm down, you're not dying. You have to trust me!” he says, holding Lance in his arms and making his way as quickly as he could out of the room. He can't believe he pushed for so long, Lance was bleeding through his suit…! And all the while Lance was still begging Shiro for a kiss, just one, please, before I die!

“Please acknowledge me,” Lance begs, still sobbing, holding onto Shiro tightly. “Please say you love me, please…!” He sounded tired now. He probably wore himself out with all the crying and the awful wound on his back…

“Allura, I'm taking Lance to the ship, he's beer hurt badly, he needs to be put in a healing pod immediately!” Shiro says, voice quiet as he sneaks past some galra. He felt bad for ignoring Lance but even if he wanted to stop and... kiss him, his injury was too bad to wait to treat.

In his arms, Lance had gone quiet. He couldn't let him pass out, though.

“Lance,” Shiro says, shaking him lightly. “Lance, stay with me buddy. Can you hear me?”

“Shiro…” he says, eyes half open. Shiro hurried into his lion. “I'm dying, Shiro…”

“Stop saying that!” Shiro growls, coating his lion and flying as fast as he could back to the ship. “I won't lose you! I can't… _can't_ lose you.”

“I love you, so, so much,” Lance says, his tears starting back up. “Please, just say it back, in case I really do die, please…”

“I… I love you too, Lance,” Shiro says, even though it wasn't true. Lance had already lost so much blood. Shiro was scared. He didn't want to lose his teammate, not again…

Shiro saw a faint smile on Lance's face at his words,  and his chest tightened with guilt. Then his eyes closed and Shiro almost panicked, trying to keep him awake.

Suddenly Keith's voice came into his ear, saying they retrieved whatever it was they were there for, Shiro couldn't remember. He ordered the paladins to retreat, immediately.

“Lance is badly injured, Coran is waiting for me, I'm already on my way back to the castle.”

“Is he okay?!” Hunk and Keith demand at the same time.

“To be honest, I'm not completely sure,” Shiro admits,  glancing back down at the teen. “I think he'll be fine if I hurry, so everyone needs to come back ASAP.”

“Roger!” the three remaining respond, all having a worried time in their voices.

Lance had been riding with Keith for stealth, so luckily his lion was still safe inside the castle.

Two hours later, all the paladins were crowded around the pod Lance was in, all worked about their sharpshooter.

“Is he… going to make it?” Hunk asks softly, sounding like he was almost afraid of the answer.

“He will,” Allura reassured the team. They all sighed in relief. “However the healing process will take longer than last time… at least five quintents. But he will make it out of this alive.  It now we just… must be careful. We can't form Voltron without Lance, as you know. We'll have to be wary and try to stay away from battle for now. Worse case scenario there are a few side missions, but for now let's just try to lay low…” The princess by no means wanted to stop helping and just hide, it it was to dangerous without the blue lion.

Soon enough the room cleared out for the most part, the only person left standing there was Keith, one hand on the glass of the pod, the other chevron at his side.

“You're gonna wake up, and you're gonna be okay,” he says in a shaky voice. “And then I'll tell you… how I really feel about you, Lance McClain…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise the next chapter will be longer, lol. I just had to write this idea out! I have so many Voltron fanfiction ideas on my phone, aghhhh. But this was the one I wanted to write first, lmao. Cx
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading!!! Any and all feedback is welcome.
> 
> Hmu on Tumblr!! idiocyonaplate.tumblr.com cx I'd love to chat about Voltron or other!! :D
> 
> Look forward to chapter two!! ;D


	2. True Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After walking up, Lance confirms his feelings with Shiro, who has the choice to either continue on with this lie or come clean with Lance.
> 
> Keith overhears Lance and Shiro talking, and what he hears will either make our break him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my lovelies~! Thanks for reading this!! cx This is the chapter where things pick up, I promise! Enjoy!

When Lance woke up from the healing pod, he was alone.

He emerged from the pod, feeling almost sad.  Last time he woke up all his friends were there.  They may not have been paying attention to him, but at least he was immediately greeted by them.

He looked around and was about to just walk out to find somebody, probably Coran, until he noticed there actually was someone there.

Shiro. Lance's heart swelled with joy and relief at the sight of the man. He'd fallen asleep with his back against the wall facing Lance. Had Shiro been waiting for him to wake up…? Lance's heartbeat picked up at the thought.

He slowly walked out of the healing pod, making sure he was good standing, before making his way toward Shiro.

Lance wasn't sure how long he was in there for, whether it be a day or a week- all he knew was that he dreamed of Shiro for a good portion of it.

He was honestly sort of embarrassed about what happened during that fight. The way he was clinging to Shiro and confessing his love… he was almost too embarrassed to face Shiro.

But then he remembered that Shiro said it back. Shiro said he loved him. Now Lance had to know if that was true. Does Shiro really love him back? Or was that just a lie so Lance could… die happy? For all Lance knows he could have just dreamt Shiro said that!

“Shiro?” Lance calls, voice coming out much quieter than he'd meant for it to. Getting on one knee to be more on Shiro’s level, he says his name again, louder this time, shaking him lightly.

Shiro stirred, blinking once. He looked like he'd been trying to remember where he was. When his eyes focused on Lance, he shot up. “Lance! You're awake… how are you feeling?”

“A lot better,” Lance says truthfully. “How long was I out?”

“Almost six quintets.”

“Whoa…” Lance says, surprised.  That was a lot longer than he was expecting. “Were you, um… waiting? For me to wake up, I mean…”

He hated this about himself. He could act so confident and suave around everyone except the one person he didn't want to be a nervous mess in front of.

“Yeah,” Shiro confirms. “Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep.”

"Don't be!" Lance exclaims quickly and with much more energy than he'd meant to have. Blushing, he calmed himself down again. “I-I’m just… I'm grateful I didn't wake up by myself. And the fact that you of all people were waiting for me makes me really happy…”

“I'm not the only one,” Shiro informs him, but Lance wasn't listening. “Keith was-”

“Shiro…” Lance cuts him off. “I'm sorry but I really need to know.”

“Yes?” Shiro asks, acting like he doesn't know where this was going.

“…I told you, right?”

“That you love me?”

“Yeah…”

“Yes.”

“And you said that you loved me, too… right?”

“.. Yes.” Shiro hopes Lance didn't catch the hesitation in his voice.

“Were you lying?” Lance asks, voice quivering. “Or do you really love me?”

“I…” Shiro pauses. He had been planning to be honest with him, apologize for lying but… Lance just woke up from thinking he was going to die, and now he was going to have his heart broken? He wasn't looking directly at Shiro. His eyes were pointed downward, like he was afraid, and Shiro could see tears already forming in his eyes and… and he just didn't have the heart to tell him the truth. “I love you, Lance.”

Lance's head snapped up at his words and Shiro’s chest tightened with guilt. “You do?”

“I do,” Shiro nods.

“Then… will you kiss me?” Lance asks hopefully. If Shiro doesn't kiss him, he'll know that it's not real, and Lance hopes more than anything that this is real.

Shiro hesitates for a moment. He shouldn't do this. He should tell Lance he's sorry and say no. But with the yearning look in his eyes as he stared at him, He once again couldn't bring himself to reject the poor guy…

Then he leaned in, stopping just before their mouths touch.

“Are you sure you want this?” Shiro asks, not to find an excuse to get out of it, but to make sure Lance was honestly comfortable with such a large age gap.

“I've wanted this since I spoke to you in person for the first time,” Lance says without hesitation.

And then their lips were touching, and it was the most magical moment Lance had ever experienced. Shiro’s lips on his was such a warm and wonderful feeling, Lance felt he never wanted to pull away. He felt so, so lucky someone as amazing as Shiro loved him of all people.

* * *

 

As Keith had made his way back to the room with the healing pods, he swore he could hear Lance speaking.

Well shit, now he regretted going to the bathroom! But he'd been holding it for vargas… He was glad Shiro had agreed to wait in his place while he was gone despite being so tired. He'd had probably fallen asleep on the wall the moment Keith left the room, but he'd figured that was fine since he honestly hadn't expected Lance to wake up yet.

Everyone was surprised when Keith said he'd watch over Lance since the two got into arguments so regularly, but the truth was Keith liked Lance. A lot.

Nobody knew that though, not even Shiro. Keith might even say he was in… love. With Lance. But the thought of having such intense feelings for the pilot was scary to him, so he left it at like.

He had really wanted to be the first to greet Lance when he woke up. He had hoped to be alone with him so he could apologize for acting so childishly about his feelings, and telling him the truth. He was glad he left Shiro there, though, because even though Lance never said it out loud, he could tell being by himself was really scary to him, so if Keith ever had to leave the room he'd anyways try to get someone to wait for him, usually Hunk but if not whoever was nearby.

That he's liked him ever since the fight with Sendak, when he first thought he was going to lose him.  He team poked fun at him for a while about the whole “bonding moment” thing, but for Keith, that really was an important moment. He had probably liked Lance since before then, but he had never let himself admit it until that moment.

As Keith neared the entrance, he paused. They sounded like they were having a rather serious discussion somehow...

Letting his curiosity get the best of him, he  leaned in close to the door and listened in on what they were talking about.

“… you love me?” he hears Shiro ask. Keith's eyes widen in shock. Did he hear him right?

“Yeah…”  Lance responds, and Keith can feel his heart sinking as his chest tightens up.

“Yes.”

“And you said you love me, too... right?”

“Yes.” Shiro says without hesitation. Keith didn't know what to do. Shiro loves Lance? What? Why didn't he tell Keith? Albeit, he didn't tell Shiro that he loved- no, not loved, _liked_ Lance either but… Shiro had told him when he liked Allura! He wasn't secretive about these things like Keith was.

“Were you lying?” Lance asks in a shaking voice that broke Keith's heart. “Or do you really love me?”

Keith's heart was beating out of his chest. Is it bad he wanted Shiro to take it back? Although even if he does, what good will it do? Lance doesn't like him. He likes- no, not likes… he's in _love_ with Shiro.

“I…” Shiro hesitated for a very short moment and Keith couldn't help it anymore, peering into the room to see them. They were both on the floor, Lance kneeling in front of Shiro who was still where Keith had left him, his neck against the wall. “I love you.”

That wasn't Shiro’s crush voice. Keith _knows_ his “I like someone” voice, and that wasn't it. He clenched his fist at his side, suddenly angry at Shiro.

Oh shit, he tuned out for a moment. When he started to listen again all he heard was Lance say,

“… since I spoke to you in person for the first time.”

Then they were kissing. Feeling sick and heartbroken, Keith storms to his room, trying to hold back his tears.

* * *

 

After a while of just laying on the floor together, Lance's head on Shiro’s chest, Shiro realized Keith hasn't come back yet.

“Keith sure is taking a long time,” he comments idly. Lance raises an eyebrow.

“Keith was here?”

“Yeah,” Shiro nods. “To be honest Keith watched over you more than any of us.”

Lance hummed in acknowledgement. “He probably feels bad for being so snarky with me,” he jokes. “But seriously, I appreciate that. I'm surprised, but appreciative. Let him know that for me, yeah?”

“Sure.”

“Awesome,” Lance smiles before getting up and stretching. “Man, I know I just woke up from a long sleep, but I'm beat! I'll say hi to everyone tomorrow.”

He yawns. “Goodnight, Shiro.”

“Night, Lance.”

“… Hey Shiro?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

“Love you too, Lance,” Shiro says as sincerely as he could. Lance smiles brightly before heading to his room. Shiro sighs, putting his head in his palms.  What did he just do…? Knowing Lance he's not going to want to keep this a secret for long.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm himself, Shiro gets up and decides to head over to Keith's room and thank him for Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I really hope you stick around for chapter three! I'm looking forward to writing it ;3
> 
> Please let me know if you find any grammatical errors or sentences that make no sense (I don't always catch the mistakes my tablet makesTwT);;;
> 
> If you have any questions or requests, comment or hit me up on Tumblr! Or even if you just wanna chat about Voltron~ idiocyonaplate.tumblr.com <3
> 
> Any and all comments and kudos are much appreciated! I would really love to hear what you think about each chapter, even if you hated it! I'm honestly really proud of this chapter, haha.
> 
> Lots of love! Thanks so much for your support! Look out for chapter three!! x3 (>w <3


	3. What's Up With Lance?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance has been incredibly happy since he woke up, but something seems just a little off.... but Allura, Hunk, and Pidge just can't seem to place their fingers on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit more lighthearted than the other two chapters ^w^
> 
> PS - I didn't proofread this because I'm really stressed and tired so if you see any typos please let me know cx

Shiro ended up being unable to talk to Keith that night.  By the time he came by, Keith was already asleep. He guessed that was understandable and must've been why he never came back last night. He's been losing sleep watching over Lance. Shiro wasn't too sure why Keith was so insistent on being there so often, but he didn't pry. He knew Keith probably had his own reasons.

It's been a few quintents since Lance and Shiro began their… relationship. Lance has been happier than ever to be back, and knowing that Shiro was his and Shiro loves him. The others in the castle have noticed his good mood and were thankful he seemed fine.

They were confused, though. He was acting just slightly different than usual.

At first they weren't too sure what was off.

“Hunk, you're his best friend and you can't tell what's wrong with him?”

“What, so just cause he's my bestie I'm supposed to automatically know what's wrong with him?” Hunk asks, frowning at Pidge.

“Well isn't that usually how best friends work?” she asks back. She hates not knowing things so the fact she couldn't figure out just what was odd about Lance was pissing her off to no end.

“I don't know!” Hunk sighs. “You're making me feel like a bad friend!”

“You're both overreacting,” Allura says with a roll of her eyes. “Why is this so important anyways?”

“Well if you're so disinterested why haven't you left yet?” Pidge asks in an accusing tone.

“Well that's- that's because you two are so entertaining, arguing like this!”

“Yeah sure,” Pidge says, voice laced in sarcasm. The three go back and forth for awhile more until Keith, who'd been standing against the wall opposite to them, gets annoyed and let's out a frustrated groan. They turn their attention toward him.

“He hasn't been flirting,” Keith states like it was obvious.

Another thing the others have been noticing lately is how snappish Keith's been. Ever since Lance woke up, even though he'd been waiting so intently for him, Keith has been moodier than ever. He hasn't even been arguing with Lance lately, he just seeths by himself whenever something is annoying him.

“Flirting? That's what's different?” Pidge blinks.

“Yes,” Keith huffs. “Remember last time after he immediately began hitting on Allura when he woke up? Even at meals, he always find ways to compliment her. But lately he hasn't _done_ any of that. He hasn't even talked about going out to other planets and meeting ‘the ladies’ and getting a parade thrown or something.”

Pidge was about to counter before realising that Keith was exactly right. Lance has been extra cheery lately, but he hasn't said a single lame pickup line.

“Oh my gosh you're right,” she says, slamming her hand on her forehead, probably upset she didn't realize it first.

“But what changed?” Hunk asks, sounding confused. “I mean, even back on earth I don't think he ever went a day without talking about girls or flirting with someone.”

“Who knows? Maybe you should ask him yourself,” Keith snaps before storming out of the room.

“… Okay… so we know what's wrong with Lance now,” Hunk starts, “but what's up with Keith?”

“That's what I've been wondering,” Pidge says, adjusting her glasses. “But we'll figure they out later! I want to put Lance's flirting to the test.”

“What do you mean?” Hunk asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, this is Lance we're talking about, you know?” Pidge starts and they nod. “So, there's no way he could resist a pretty girl flirting with _him_. Catch my drift?”

“But Pidge, I don't wanna see you flirt with another guy, even if it isn't serious!” Hunk pouts.

“Wha- no, not me!” Pidge says, startled and blushing a bit. “I was talking about _Allura_.”

“Oh… Oops.”

Allura rolls her eyes at the blushing couple, though there was a smile on her lips.

Then Pidge’s words registered.

“Wait, what?! Flirt with Lance? Are you out of your mind?” the princess scoffs. “I refuse.”

“Aww, come on Allura,” Pidge pouts. “It's for science!”

“Science or not, I refuse to stoop to the same level as Lance and his lame ways of flirting!”

* * *

 

“Heyyy, Lance,” Allura calls out, sliding into the kitchen area. Lance was currently making a disgusted face at a delicious looking Altean dish, much to the princess’ dismay.

“Oh, hey Allura,” Lance greets, putting the food back into the fridge. “What's up?”

“Oh, um, I just wanted to say that you look pretty hot today,” she says with a wink. Lance blinked, surprised at the compliment. Internally, she was screaming. She can't believe she let Pidge talk her into this!

* * *

 

“I can't believe she let you talked her into this,” Hunk says, watching with Pidge from around the corner.

“ _I_ can't believe we had to explain what being ‘hot’ meant to Allura,” Pidge chuckles. “Sometimes I forget we're from two completely different places.”

* * *

 

“You think I look hot?” Lance asks as if he can't believe he heard her correctly.

“I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it,” Allura says, trying her best to keep a flirtatious look. Pidge told her that Lance loved when girls were straightforward and apparently batting her eyelashes was a good touch for some reason.

Lance paused for a moment before sighing in relief. “I'm so glad you said that!” he says, his face looking ten times more at ease. “To be honest I completely forgot to moisturize last night so I've been feeling really insecure all day.”

He puts a hand on Allura’s shoulder and smiles like she was his sister or something. “Thanks Allura. I really needed that. Oh, you look really pretty too, by the way. I have to go talk to Shiro now. See you later!”

And then he jogged out of the room before Allura could even respond.

“Well that was unexpected,” Pidge says, add she and Hunk emerged from their hiding spot. “He did call you pretty, but he said it more like he almost forgot to return the favor. There wasn't even a hint of wanting to say a bad pickup line…”

“I should be happy the flirting seems to have stopped but I feel almost insulted when you put it like that.”

“Uh. Sorry.”

“I guess we shouldn't make such a big deal out of this then?” Hunk says. “Maybe he's just matured after having such a scary experience.”

“True…” Pidge says, feeling sort for bad for expecting less of her best friend. “So I guess we'll be dropping this case and moving to the next; figuring out what's got Keith's panties in a bunch.”

* * *

 

“Hey Shiro? Can I come in?” Shiro hears Lance ask from the other side of his bedroom door.

Shiro felt guilty every time he heard Lance call out to him. He always sounded so endearing when saying his name…

Honestly, Shiro really hadn't expected expected Lance to like him like this. He was sure he liked Allura considering how much attention he gives her. He even got jealous when Keith and Allura were alone together. But he guesses it was more playful flirting than anything, not necessarily love.

“Go ahead,” Shiro responds, sitting up on his bed. Once the door opened Lance stepped inside and smiled at his leader. He just stands in the doorway for a moment before finally stepping in and letting it shut behind him.

“Hey,” he greets.

“Hey,” Shiro greets back and then it gets quiet.

“Um, so I've sort of been avoiding you today…”

“I've noticed,” Shiro says except he hadn't actually noticed but he said he did and Lance looks both glad that he noticed and guilty he's been doing it, even though he has nothing to feel guilty about, unlike Shiro. “Did I do something to upset you?”

“No! Not at all, um… it's actually really dumb why I've been avoiding you.”

“I doubt it is,” Shiro assures him, patting the spot next to him on the bed and Lance came and sat down. It was really strange for Shiro top see Lance like this. He's used to the boisterous and slightly obnoxious Lance, but lately when they're alone together he gets really fidgety and nervous.

Not that it's not understandable, but he would prefer Lance to seem more comfortable with him. As cute as it was, seeing him flustered only made Shiro feel worse.

And he totally just called Lance cute, what.

“I just felt like I looked really bad today, so I was too embarrassed to see you,” Lance says sheepishly. “But then Allura said I looked hot so I wanted to see you since she never compliments me so I figured wow I must actually look good that and I'm rambling, sorry…”

Shiro couldn't help a chuckle, patting Lance's head. Lance didn't seem to like this action though. He realized he just did the same thing to Lance he usually doesn to Keith or Pidge such he guesses isn't a good feeling to Lance considering they're supposed to be dating, so he switches to running his fingers through Lance's short brown hair and his cheeks heat up at that.

“You look fine,” Shiro assures him. “But even if you didn't, I don't want you to feel like you should hide yourself from me for something like that.”

Lance smiles softly at his words, leaning onto the bigger man who instinctively wrapped his arm around him.

“I think this is why I love you so much,” he says tenderly.

“Why?” Shiro asks, unsure of what he did.

“You always know what to say,” Lance says. He wasn't look at Shiro as he spoke, his eyes were on the floor. “You're so accepting of all of us. You just make me feel so… noticed.” A pause.

“You know, I… tend to feel like a burden to this team.”

“Lance, you're not-”

“Wait,” he stops him, finally sitting up and looking at Shiro. “Pidge is the brain, Hunk is our source of reason, and Keith may be hot-headed but he's one the most amazing pilots I've ever met, and you-... well, you're everything in one. And I don't know why, but you love me. You love me in the same way I love you and I'm still having a hard time believing it and I feel _so_ cheesy telling you this, but you made me realize I do play a part on this team! That I'm not useless and that I serve a purpose on this team. So I just… thank you. For leading me and for loving me.”

Then he wrapped Shiro in a tight hug, burying his face in his chest and Shiro had never felt a shame worse than this.

“I… don't know what to say, honestly… I just-”

“You don't need to say anything,” Lance says gently. “Just… hold me for a while, please…”

So that's what Shiro did. He held him for who knows how long, and it was silent. The silence seemed comfortable for Lance and it was a bit of an emotional break for Shiro.

* * *

 

As Lance was leaving Shiro’s room, he paused in the doorway.

“Shiro?”

“Lance?”

“Do… do you think we can tell the others about, like… us soon?” Lance asks hopefully. “I don't want to make you uncomfortable but it feels really weird hiding this from all the others, especially Hunk and Pidge.”

“I… I mean, yeah,” Shiro says with a forced smile. “Of course we can, Lance. To be honest I started wanting to tell Keith, too.” Which was a lie.

“Really?” Lance perks up, like a puppy. “Then maybe even tomorrow…?”

“Yeah, tomorrow,” Shiro says, trying to look just as excited as Lance did, but his chest was tight and his head was pounding with nerves. He would've much preferred to wait longer. Now he was not only thing to have to lie to Lance, but to everyone sense as well.

No, he shouldn't be lying in the first place!  He has to do it. He has to come clean before he really can't back out of this.

“Wait, Lance there's… something I need to tell you.”

“Yeah?” he turns back around, eyes bright and honest, staring at Shiro with nothing but anticipation and love and Shiro’s words get caught in his throat. He stutters out some ums and uhs and Lance laughed a bit. “Are you okay?”

“Uh, yeah I just… wanted to tell you how much I love you,” he forces out and Lance's entire face turns red.

“Love you too!” he grins and then he's gone and the door shuts and Shiro groans, putting his face in his hands in a defeated manner.

Well, there goes that. He guesses he's really gotta commit now and for that he felt awful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I know this chapter was overall kinda shit but I had fun writing it, lol. I'm really excited about the next chapter so I hope you'll stick with me! Thanks for the support!
> 
> Sorry there are so many line breaks QwQ);;;
> 
> Hit me up on Tumblr so we can scream about Voltron *w*)b idiocyonaplate.tumblr.com <3
> 
> Any and all comments make my day! Maybe leave a kudos as well? Haha.
> 
> Look out for chapter four!!! <3


	4. Officially In Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Shiro come out as a couple. Keith confronts Shiro about his "love" for Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to add a bonus scene from chapter three where Pidge and Hunk explain what being "hot" means to Allura, but I forgot to add it last chapter and the mood just wasn't right for this one, lol. So I probably just won't add it in, sorry. ^w^);;;;
> 
> Enjoy the chapter~!

Lance’s heart was beating out of his chest. He was really nervous about today because today was the day he and Shiro were going to come out as an official couple. He's been so excited about this, finally being able to talk to Hunk and Pidge about it.

He had told Hunk about his crush on Shiro almost immediately after he decided he felt more than just admiration for the man. Hunk told Pidge but Lance didn't mind because these guys were like family to him.

However, they had a mission today so their big reveal would have to wait.

* * *

 

The mission went pretty smoothly. It wasn't anything really difficult. Lance and Hunk went with Allura to get some items they needed from the balmera, which surprisingly went without interruption.

Meanwhile, Keith had to help Pidge with some science stuff on the ship he didn't understand, but he was more there to hand her supplies than anything. Shiro was upfront with Coran.

Pidge wanted to ask Keith why he's been so grumpy lately, but since he seemed to be pretty calm in the moment, she decided against it. In fact, he seemed to be in an overall good mood.

“You seem like you're in a pretty good mood,” she says instead, hinting at the fact she'd noticed he'd been really off lately, but not to a point he could get pissed about it.

“Yeah,” he says mindlessly, watching her work. Nothing had really changed between Lance and Shiro, so he was pretty calm today. They've been acting just like they did before, aside from the lack of Lance’s cheesy pickup lines. “I guess I just feel like today might be a pretty good day for me.”

“That's good!” Pidge says, working quickly and smoothly. She hopes this means he'll start acting like his regular self again; emo, but not _this_ emo- and for no apparent reason, too.

* * *

 

It's been a few hours since they all returned to the ship and they were all chilling in the lounging area. A bit separated from the others, Lance was talking to Shiro quietly. Nobody really paid any mind to them, though, except for Keith, who was shifting his eyes to them every 5 ticks.

Before Keith could really start over thinking this, though, Lance called for the attention of his fellow paladins and friends.

“Hey, everyone!” Lance calls out. “Um, I have a bit of an… announcement to make.”

He was fidgeting, Keith noticed, hands behind his back as he rocked back and forth on his heels, eyes averted to the ground. Lance never gets squirmish like this. His cheeks were tinted with a light red blush and Keith could already feel his stomach dropping.

“What's up, Lance?” Hunk asks from the couch, sipping at his space juice.

“Well…” he finally looks up at his friends, biting his lip to try and hold back a nervous smile. “To be blunt… Shiro and I are actually dating now!”

“What? That's great Lance!” Hunk laughs nearly dropping his drink. Everyone seemed surprised but they were all happy for the couple.

Except Keith, who could feel his chest tighten and his heart sinking into his stomach. So they really were together…? Shiro’s arm was around Lance’s waist, and he was smiling a bit awkwardly.  His expression could easily be mistaken for nervous or embarrassed, but Keith's known this man his whole life, and he knows that's not what he looks like when he's genuinely in love with someone. Or at least in like. In fact, Shiro didn't seem to have _any_ romantic interest in Lance at all!

Keith was getting heated now. This wasn't fair! Why did Shiro get to stand by his side, to hold him and touch him, if he didn't even love him?! Lance seemed like he was head over heels in love with Shiro, and as much as it hurt Keith,  he knew he had to accept that. He would've done so easily if Shiro really had feelings for him but he doesn't!

Keith said no congratulations, but wordlessly left the lounge and went to his own room.

* * *

 

It was maybe an hour later when the door to Shiro’s room opened, and in walked Keith. He didn't say anything, he just let the doors shut behind him and leaned against the wall.

“Hey,” Shiro says after some silence. Keith just looked at him, arms crossed as he stayed where he was, no words. “Did you need something…?”

“Do you love him?” Keith finally asks, trying to look more indifferent than he felt.

“Of course I do,” Shiro says. “I wouldn't be dating him if I didn't.”

“Don't lie to me Shiro,” Keith says angrily. “How long have we known each other? I know when you like someone, and you don't like Lance. Not in the same way he does at least…”

Shiro blinked before sighing, running a hand through his hair. “I do love Lance,” he says. “But it's like… the same love I have for you. Like a friend or a little brother.”

“Then why are you dating him?” Keith demands much more angrily than he'd meant to. “What did he do to deserve to be lied to?!”

“Keith… do you like Lance?” Shiro asks, furrowing his brow with concern.

“I- no! I don't like Lance I just… I know what it's like to have your heart broken…” Keith lies, clutching his shirt, right over his heart.

Shiro nods and sighs, believing what his friend said.

“I told him I loved him when he first confessed to me, on the night he almost died,” Shiro explains. “How was I supposed to tell him I don't love him when he'd might die? That'd be so… sad. So I lied.”

“But why didn't you tell him when he woke up?” Keith asks. He guesses he could understand the first part, but… there was no need to keep up the lie.

“I wanted to tell him,” Shiro says. “I just… with the way he looked at me, I couldn't do it. Especially not after he just woke up. He going through too much right now… I'll figure something out, though! I can't do this for long, I feel so guilty already, but I just.. can't yet.”

Keith didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say.So he just left, leaving Shiro feeling even worse now that Keith was mad at him.

On his way back to his room he bumped into Lance. His heart skipped a beat. Why now of all times?

“Hey,” Lance greets him. “We haven't really talked much, huh?”

He was grinning and Keith's heart was going out of control. He averted his eyes.

“Yeah,” was all Keith responded with.

“… Did I do something?” Lance asks, sounding sorry for no reason. “You've been avoiding me ever since I woke up… is it because I didn't thank you directly?”

“What're you talking about?” Keith asks, confused. He wasn't mad at Lance at all, although he could see why the other would think that.

“Well after I woke up, Shiro told me you took a lot of care in watching over me… I really appreciate that! But I had been really tired so I asked Shiro to tell you for me.”

But Shiro never told him that, not that he could remember…

Oh. He remembers now. Shiro had been knocking on his door late that night, but Keith didn't respond. He pretended to sleep though. He didn't want Shiro to know he'd been crying. Shiro probably forgot to let him know in the morning.

“Oh, that…” Keith says. He did feel kind of hurt Lance didn't even thank him in person after finding out, but he wasn't mad. “No, I'm not mad at that. I'm not mad at you for anything.”

“Then why won't you talk to me?”

“I just… haven't been in the right head space lately,” Keith says, which technically wasn't a lie. “Sorry.”

“It's fine,” Lance says. “I'm not even sure if you heard my announcement earlier…?”

“I did.” Keith didn't want to congratulate him. In fact, if Keith really wanted to, he could expose Shiro. It'd be better for Lance find out sooner rather than later, right? “And um… Look, about Shiro-”

“I-I know,” Lance says, scratching the back of his head.

“… You do?”

“Yes, and I'm sorry,” he says sincerely. Keith couldn't seem to find any words, he was just very confused.

“Sorry for what, exactly…?” he asks after finally finding his voice again.

“I know you like Shiro but I just… after what happened I couldn't _not_ tell him my feelings! And then when he said he felt the same way… I just-”

“Wait, _what_? I like Shiro?” Keith exclaims in shock.

“Don't you?” Lance asks with a raised eyebrow. “You don't have to lie…”

“No, I don't like Shiro, Lance! He's like… like a brother to me!” Keith says, quickly debunking the thought. “I like- um… never mind that. Look, the point is, I am _not_ mad at you, I just… I've had a lot on my mind lately..”

“I'm sorry, man,” Lance sighs. “I'm sorry I've been so caught up with myself and Shiro I haven't really been paying attention to you.” He put his hand on Keith's shoulder and the shorter could feel his heartbeat picking up. “You know I'm here for you, right?”

“Yeah, for sure,” Keith mumbles. “So… you're really happy with him?”

“Yeah,” Lance says with a soft smile that made Keith feel like melting, though his heart still sank knowing that smile wasn't for him. “I never thought I'd be lucky enough to be loved by a guy like him… confident, strong, level headed, smart _and_ handsome? He's like… too good to be true, ya’ know?”

“Yeah,” Keith says, looking down at the floor. He couldn't do it. He couldn't tell Lance that Shiro was lying.

He guesses now he can really see why Shiro can't bring himself to tell the truth. Even when just talking about him, Lance's entire demeanor softened from his usual “I'm-A-Manly-Man” appearance. His voice got softer and his eyes were filled with nothing but adoration…

“I'm happy for you Lance,” Keith says with a forced smile, patting his friend on the shoulder. Friend… Keith didn't realize how much that word could hurt. Lance beamed.

“Thanks,” he responds. “And good luck with Allura.” He adds with a wink, walking away.

“Allur-?!” Keith stops himself. He would totally give himself away if he acted surprised at that. Who else is there to like, after all? Hunk and Pidge are dating, and he already denied having feelings for Shiro. That only leaves Allura and Coran, and it's obviously not the latter. And of course Lance wouldn't suspect that Keith liked him, that he was all Keith thought about- especially since he's been acting like such a dick lately…

“Uh.. thanks,” he says instead, balling his fists at his sides. He waits until he knows Lance is gone before going to his room. The moment he steps in, he punches the wall as hard as he can.

_Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry…_

He fell to his hands and knees, bangs falling over his face, letting out a broken sob.

“Fuck!” he yells, grateful sound doesn't really come out behind the heavy door. Tears streamed down his face as he slammed his fist into the ground over and over until his hand was red and throbbing from the abuse.

He ended the night the same way he did one week ago; face down in his pillow, eyes red and stinging from crying himself to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehe... S u f f e r.
> 
> Jkjk, lmao. Hope you guys enjoyed this! I'm not sure I want to add a romantic relationship with Allura for Keith, but I think that at the least they're probably gonna get to being best buds, lol. Idkyet tho.
> 
> So I was planning on this fic to only be ablout 10 chapters but I think it's going to be longer than that, lol. So sorry and please bare with me! ;0;
> 
> Anyways, thanks so much for reading! All your comments make me day so please tell me what you think~!! Maybe leave a kudos :D
> 
> Look out for chapter five!! <3
> 
> PS - I didn't proofread the last bit so sorry for any typos ^w^);;;;


	5. A Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Keith refuses the let anyone in, Allura makes a point to get the red paladin to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I made you guys wait for such a short chapter! I've been really busy lately ;-; I hope you enjoy it anyways! I promise the next chapter will be better x) <3
> 
> Enjoy!!

The next week went by as a blur for Keith. He wasn't acting like himself and he knew it, and everyone else knew it too.

It was different from last time, though. Last time he was unreasonably angry, this time he had became uncharacteristically quiet.

Not only was he is not arguing, he wouldn't even put suggestions in. He had nothing to say.

The last thing was going to do is let his heartbreak get in the way of his job as a paladin of Voltron, so he did what he had to do. He still went on missions of course, but he almost never had vocal input. He'd follow orders from Shiro, listen to Pidge’s calculations… he was doing everything right, but when they'd get back to the castle he was the first in and the first out. When they ate together he almost never finished his food, and then he'd wordlessly excuse himself from the table. Nobody knew what to do, so they gave him his space.

Going into week two of this, however, the paladins knew they had to do something.

At first they tried to send Shiro, but Keith couldn't bring himself to look at him right now. He was still mad at Shiro, and he was mad at himself for letting Lance be used.

When Shiro came back saying it was no good, they sent Lance.

“Why me?” he asks.

“You guys were getting along pretty well before you almost died and stuff,” Hunk says with a shrug. Lance guesses that was true. They'd still been arguing but it was pretty playful. Lance saw him as a friend rather than a rival now, even if Keith could get pretty annoying, Lance found it more endearing than anything.

However, Lance was pushed away as well. Hunk and Pidge didn't even try after that. They knew if Keith didn't want to talk to these two of all people, he definitely won't respond to them.

“Where's Keith?” they hear Allura asks, looking between the four. “I'm going to talk to him.”

“in his room. He won't talk to anyone,” Shiro warns. “He might not let you in.”

“He might let Allura in,” Lance comments idly.

“Whether or not he lets me, he can't keep avoiding us forever. I will talk to him by the end of the day.”

Then she marches over to his room and knocks on the door. “Keith, open the door,” she says firmly, and then waits. When nothing happened she knocked again. “ _Keith_ , stop acting like a child and open the door. You may think you're not hindering the team, but you are. Your temper tantrum is distracting the team.”

She waits again and the doors still didn't open. She was about to start up again but then the doors separated and she couldn't help a triumphant smile before putting on a serious face again and stepping inside, doors shutting behind her.

“I feel like if anyone can get through to him it's her,” Lance says thoughtfully.

“Why?” Hunk asks.

“Don't know. Just a feeling.”

Shiro and Hunk exchanged glances but just shrugged it off and the group began to walk away, Lance interlocking his hand with Shiro’s artificial one.

“Ugh, you guys are so lovey-dovey,” Pidge scoffs with a grin.

“Hunk’s arm is literally around your waist right now,” Lance counters with a laugh.

* * *

 

“Can you make this quick?” Keith mutters, sitting on his bed.

“Oh, so you do have a voice,” Allura says, crossing her arms over her chest. “What is the meaning of this behavior lately, Keith?”

“It's nothing,” Keith grits out. “I'm fine.”

“Ha! Don't even try to hide it, Keith. We all know you're upset and it's not bad to have those feelings- but you can't let your emotions get in the way of our main goal.”

“I'm not!” Keith snaps. “I haven't messed up anything, have I? I haven't done anything brash or argued so what's the problem?!”

“That's precisely it, Keith,” Allura says. “It’s not like you to just go through the motions without anything to say.”

“Well thanks,” Keith says angrily. “Sorry I'm usually such a loudmouth!”

“That's not what I mean,” Allura says exasperatedly. “As a paladin of Voltron, it is your job to speak with your team and work together! And lately you've shown no signs of teamwork and  _that's_ why I'm frustrated.” Keith stayed silent.

“If you don't want to tell me what's wrong that's fine, but please think more about the team. They're all worried about you. I know I may seem mad but I'm worried as well…”

“I… I'm sorry,” Keith sighs, running his hand through his dark hair in a frustrated manner. “I'll be fine. I just… have to get my thoughts together, um… thanks.”

“Anytime,” Allura smiles. She pauses to see if he'll say more, but when he doesn't she takes her leave.

* * *

 

It wasn't until hours later Keith came out in the middle of dinner, sitting down in front of his now cold food silently. Everybody paused but nobody spoke to him. They were glad he even decided to join them to eat.

They continued to talk and soon enough, Keith joined them as they spoke. Their faces lit up when he spoke and they eagerly accepted him into their conversation.

When everyone had finished reading and begun their cleanup, Keith stood up abruptly, averting his eyes down. The team looked at him.

“You guys, I'm sorry,” he says. “I haven't been doing my part on this team. I let my emotions get in the way of what we needed…”

“Keith, it's fine,” Lance says walking over to him. Keith wanted to take a step back but then Lance's hand was on his shoulder, causing his face to heat up. “We're not mad at you. We were all really worried about you! Just remember, we're a team, okay? Talk to us if you have any problems.” Then he winked a playful wink but it made Keith's heart go crazy and he nodded. Lance gave him a final pat on the shoulder and another one of his famous smiles before walking back to Hunk and Pidge.

Keith let the dining hall clear out before going back to his room, where he found Shiro waiting for him. He wanted to turn tail and avoid talking to him, but decided against it. He knew he couldn't just keep avoiding talking to him, not only did he not want to push Shiro away but it would become too suspicious. He didn't want Shiro suspecting him of liking Lance again…

“Hey,” Shiro greets, pushing himself off the wall.

“Hey,” Keith greets back, opening his door and letting Shiro follow him in. “What's up…?”

“I know you didn't want to talk earlier, but you've seemed to calm down a bit… I don't want to force you. If you don't want to talk, I'll leave but… I just.. I want to help you.”

“It's… nothing you did, okay?” Keith reassures him. “I've just been stressing out on my own and I didn't know how to project that. So I tried to bottle it up..”

“You've never been particularly good at hiding your feelings,” Shiro chuckles and Keith can't help a bit of a laugh.

Keith and Shiro talk for a while longer, and honestly,  Keith feels a lot better afterwards. He avoided asking about Lance for his own sake. He doesn't think he'd be able to handle it at the moment…

When Shiro leaves it's about time to hit the hay, so he changes out of his day clothes and then goes to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically this chapter:  
> Allura: open the door. stop having it be closed.  
> Keith: k  
> \--------------------  
> But seriously you guys, sorry for the shit chapter. I'll make sure the next one is more entertaining and have more plot! I just kind of needed to introduce a certain bond between Keith and Allura. The next chapter will be more dramatic so please look forward to it ;D
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please, please feel free to comment! They make my day <3 Maybe leave a kudos, if you want!
> 
> Look out for chapter six!! <3 <3<3 <3


End file.
